|
|
|
Spring |
Ubannakruq |
|
This is the time when the snow is melting away and we are unable to use the snow machines and time when we dry some uugruk (Bearded Seal) meat and tomcods. Ducks are coming back, camping at different places. Men are excited because it is the time for hunting brant geese. It is the time men usually go the the head of the bay to hunt. Also women look for "machu" roots up in the low lands, called flats, and dig for them. First we'd look for the stem which is a very dry spindly stem of the "machu", the Eskimo potato plant. We also pick the tender shoots of certain willows, called "chura", and soak them in seal oil and eat them with dry meat or dried fish. There are many many ways of preserving and storing away food, and many different kinds of greens. Some are cooked in the spring, like "achaaqluk" and they are stored away for the summer and mixed with berries later in the summer. |
|
|
Summer |
Ubanyak |
|
Everything in summer is in a hectic move; boats are buzzing about, everyone is swimming, setting nets, and the men are fishing for both subsistance and commercial fish. Late summer is a time for berries; first salmonberries, called "aqpik", and blueberries, called "chugha", and towards fall blackberries and cranberries. Later we dig for clams, pile wood for winter, the men seal hunt and do more duck and brant hunting. The seagulls are screeching madly when the women are cutting fish. What a pleasure one has to behold and cherish all these activities when they are done with delight and enthusiasm. |
|
|
Autumn |
Ugiakruq |
|
The weather at this time is something to be concerned about; winds and rain seem to be the largest concern for hunters and berry pickers. We have to take cautions when going out boating. Cold weather is beginning to get the upper hand and we are in need of different kinds of clothing; such as rain gear or warm parkas. But there are also times when the weather is so nice; it is a time when the bay is glassy smooth and the waves sway from several boats out hunting seal. Boats buzz here and there; some hunting, some getting a load of wood for winter. Autumn is a really busy time. Moose hunting is very important. The men go up Fish River whenever possible. Everyone is storing, drying meat and fish, preserving berries and greens; you can list so many different things that need to be done. And quickly, the weather begins to change, reminding you that winter is on it's way. |
|
|
Winter |
Ugiuq |
|
The first signs of winter are the setting of the snow and ice forming on the bay. We resume dressing with winter clothes: mukluks, parkies, jackets, boots, beaver fur hats, knitted woolen mittens. Children skate on the ponds and later on the bay. People fish through the ice on the bay for tomcods and for trout and grayling in the rivers. Ptarmingans turn pure white and the rabbits, too. Later the men trap for fox and other animals like rabbits and wolverines. The men haul wood, saw it and chop it. Women are busy burning it. The children are busy in school. The skiing begins and then we look forward to the Ididarod dog race going through town. You can hear the mushers shouting, "Gee, Ha" (right and left) and the dogs barking in their own voices, somehow saying, "Isn't winter great?" |
|